The decision marks the second time that the US administration has unsuccessfully sought to transfer the case to Louisiana.
A federal judge has ruled that the legal challenge over Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation should continue in New Jersey.
“A habeas court generally has jurisdiction (1) where the habeas petitioner is physically in the court’s district when (2) he files his habeas petition,” U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said in a written decision on Tuesday.
“Here, each box is checked. The Petitioner was in New Jersey on March 9 at 4:40 am. And Congress has required that the Petition must be taken as having been filed in New Jersey at that same moment,” he further stated.
BREAKING: A U.S. District Court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to move Mahmoud Khalil’s case to Louisiana, ruling that his challenge to ICE’s detention must continue in New Jersey.
pic.twitter.com/EulxSTcCxG
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 2, 2025
Farbiarz noted that the Court’s jurisdiction “is not defeated by the Petitioner having been moved to Louisiana.”
The decision marks the second time that the US administration has unsuccessfully sought to transfer the case to Louisiana, where the Palestinian activist is being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility.
Trump’s Executive Order
Khalil, a green card holder who is married to a US citizen, was arrested by agents of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at his university-owned residence in New York early last month.
Mahmoud Khalil Speaks from ICE Detention: ‘I Am a Political Prisoner’
He served as a lead negotiator during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment last April and is one of many students targeted by the government following the signing of executive orders by US President Donald Trump aimed at students “who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Khalil’s legal team “had argued that if the court allowed this case to play out in Louisiana, this would be rewarding the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to suppress dissent and manipulate federal court jurisdiction by transferring Mr. Khalil across state lines in the middle of the night.”
Khalil’s Wife ‘Relieved’
Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdallah, who is due to give birth to their first child, said she was “relieved at the court’s decision” to keep his ongoing case in New Jersey.
“This is an important step towards securing Mahmoud’s freedom, but there is still a lot more to be done,” Abdallah said in a statement.
The ACLU just published an almost 9-minute video showing the arrest and abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, as recorded by his wife. This is a harrowing watch; the DHS agents show themselves to be nothing but thugs. pic.twitter.com/LuN7RHh0Vz
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) March 14, 2025
She said her husband was “being illegally held by the Trump administration, over a thousand miles away, simply because he advocated against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
Abdallah stressed that the “genocide in Gaza and the suppression of Palestinian voices is no longer an issue we can ignore or forget.”
Preliminary Injunction
In addition to asking the court to compel Khalil’s return from Louisiana, as well as seeking bail, ACLU said, his legal team is urging the court to grant a preliminary injunction (PI), “which would immediately release him from custody to be reunited with his wife, who is nine months pregnant.
‘Assault’ on Free Speech – US Lawmakers Demand Mahmoud Khalil’s Release
Abdallah also pointed out that the Trump administration was “not planning to stop with Mahmoud,” adding that he was the “first of many.”
“Other students, like Rumeysa Ozturk who was taken just days ago in broad daylight, are now being illegally rounded up by masked government agents, in broad daylight, simply for calling for Palestinians to have human rights and dignity,” Abdallah added.
“This should not be happening to anyone in America. These students all deserve freedom — and so do the Palestinian people,” she emphasized.
Rumeysa Ozturk
A Turkish national, Ozturk was stopped and detained in broad daylight by masked immigration agents as she was walking down a street near her home in Massachusetts.
She is a Tufts University student who holds an F-1 visa permitting her to pursue academic studies in the US.
‘Unconstitutional Retaliation’
Baher Azmy, the legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is a member of Khalil’s legal team, said: “We are grateful the court wisely understood that the government cannot try to manipulate the jurisdiction of the United States courts in a transparent attempt to shield their unconstitutional – and frankly chilling – behavior.”
Columbia University alumni ripped their diplomas to stand in solidarity with their colleague, Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested over his activism for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/6bvzZ9vxSn
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 1, 2025
“We look forward to the next phase of this case, which is to get Mahmoud out of detention and into the arms of his family, and then to prove the Trump administration’s attempted deportation of Mahmoud and others is nothing but unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech,” Azmy emphasized.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
